Big senior class leads Dayton football

If a strong senior class is the key to success in high school football, the Dayton DustDevils have a nice head start.

With 18 or 19 seniors, most of whom started or played key roles off the bench last season, the DustDevils are senior heavy.

It's an experienced group that will open the season this Friday at 7 p.m. against Lovelock.

The DustDevils went 4-6 last year, 4-5 in the North Division I-A, and they will lean on that experience and good team speed to try to fight their way into one of the league's four playoff berths.

"We are looking to them to lead the team and be a big part of our success," coach Rob Turner said.

The DustDevils installed a new wing-T based offense this summer, and Turner said while attending a team camp at Fernley hosted by Eastern Oregon University that his team was adapting to it well.

It's the third different offensive system the DustDevils have run in Turner's four years as coach, but he said it fits the team's personnel.

"It's a tried and true offense, good for undersized linemen and teams with a lot of speed, and we have a lot of speed," Turner said.

Defensively, the DustDevils switched from Turner's pet 4-4 to the 3-5 two years ago, and Turner said the team's speed is well suited for that scheme.

Like in the 4-4, the DustDevils will still play a gap control defense, with each player in the front eight responsible for an individual gap. They will mix up those assignments with a variety of stunts and slants to try to confuse opposing offenses.

"We still don't have the depth that numbers can provide, but I think the kids we have are smart, tough football players and that should make a world of difference. "

Turner coaches the defense himself, while Kay Berntsen is the offensive coordinator. Gary Stone has joined the staff to help coach the linemen, as he has in Yerington for the past several years. Mike Burrows will be the JV coach.